Genius at Work

Cathryn Michon makes girls' (and boys') lives easier.

Cathryn Michon talks about sex with other people at the Improv Saturday.

SAT 5/8

Comedian Cathryn Michon advises readers to take her new book, The Grrl Genius Guide to Sex (With Other People), as a how-to manual. Men, she says, will find particular value in it. "I'm here to help [guys]," she explains. "If a woman in your life reads this book, you will never again have to answer the most horrible question any man can ever be asked: Do I look fat in this? That question is like Sophie's Choice to a man. If a woman reads the book, she's not even going to ask the question. Which is going to make your life a thousand times better . . . The whole thing about how women feel about themselves benefits men. [Grrl Genius] is a matter of [women] liking themselves." Michon appears at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Improv (2000 Sycamore Street) for a performance and signing. Admission is $16; call 216-696-4677. -- Michael Gallucci

Father's Day

5/7-5/9

In the Russian psychological drama The Return, a long-absent father comes home to take his two young sons on a fishing trip. But the air of mystery surrounding the imposing dad -- he says only that he's been "far away" -- and his intentions fills Andrey Zvyaginstev's debut film with menacing tension. The older boy craves his father's approval, the younger one is a thoroughly unlikable brat, but neither really knows the man who drags them on the outdoors excursion -- which clearly has a purpose other than hooking some trout. When tragedy inevitably arrives in the third act, the ominous climate of the movie becomes nearly biblical, as the siblings who left as boys return as men. The Return is at the Cleveland Cinematheque (11141 East Boulevard) at 9:40 Friday, 7:30 Saturday, and 4 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $8. Call 216-421-7450 for more info. -- Michael Gallucci

Geauga Lake Redux

5/8-10/31

Sometime in the near future, someone in Aurora's service department will resurrect Geauga Lake's old road signs to replace the Six Flags ones that now line Route 43. After nine years under the Six Flags banner, the amusement park is back as Geauga Lake. Also returning are coasters with supercool names like the Dominator, Steel Venom, and Thunderhawk. The park (1060 North Aurora Road in Aurora) is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday for the next couple of weeks. It opens full-time Memorial Day weekend. Admission is $19.95 (juniors) and $34.95 (adults); visit www.geaugalake.com. -- Matt Leavitt